Wake up, Ash!
by Detective Desires
Summary: Team Rocket finally catches Ash's Pikachu, and Ash is in for a rude awakening; however, it's not what he expected. Was Pokemon world even real to begin with? Will Ash be able to adjust to his new life or will the shock be too much for him? Based on Ash's Coma theory!
1. Chapter 1

"No! You can't take Pikachu!" Ash screamed.

Team Rocket caught Pikachu in another electricity proof contraption and were again speeding off with him, but this time, Ash was alone. He remembered that his Pokemon were at the Pokemon center.

 _How am I going to get him back?_ Ash thought to himself.

Without thinking, Ash made a leap for the balloon. Team Rocket was currently going over a huge ravine, and Ash leaped off of a cliff to get him.

When Jessie and James saw him make the leap, they gasped.

"Are you crazy, Ash?" James yelled.

"He's going to get himself killed," Jessie said.

Ash landed on the balloon basket, a smile was on his face.

"That is one determined kid," Meowth said.

"I know," James said, a little bit of sympathy in his voice.

Jessie grabbed Ash by his hands.

"I'm...sorry to do this, because I don't know if you will live or die at this point," Jessie said, "but I just can't let you continue to fight us."

"Jessie, no!" James said.

"I can't continue to let him live in his dream world, James, where he's always the hero!" Jessie said, "it's time you tasted the real world, kid."

Ash gasped when he realized what she was going to do. Before he could do anything else, he felt his hands being lifted off the basket and his grip slipping.

"Jessie, I don't think he's ready," James said.

"Even you wouldn't do this!" Ash yelled.

"Maybe we would. It's...time we at least tried," Jessie said.

"Maybe we should just let him win again, Jessie," James said.

"We've never done anything like this before," Meowth said.

Everyone except Jessie was almost as alarmed as Ash.

"I'm through with the games we play," Jessie said.

Ash felt himself being lifted, he now noticed both of his hands were firmly in Jessie's grip, and he wasn't holding on to the balloon basket.

She leaned further, causing the balloon to lean a little. Ash felt himself drop.

"Please!" Ash pleaded. There was no answer, and he felt something like a pin prick go through his arm. Ash winced and felt his hands go limp. He was now dead weight in Jessie's hands.

"No, it's time you stopped living in a dream world!" Jessie said, defiantly.

"Jessie, I don't...I don't think he's ready. Please think about what you're doing," James said.

Meowth just stood there with his paws over his mouth.

"It's now or never, James," Jessie said as she released her grip.

"NO!" James yelled as he ran to try to catch Ash but was several seconds too late.

Ash went falling down the ravine. He didn't have any Pokemon to catch him. Desperately, he looked for something to grab on to, but there was nothing, not a root, not a tree branch, nothing. Plus, he wasn't sure his hands would even cooperate.

"Please! Someone help me!" Ash screamed.

"I'm sorry, Ash, it's time you faced the truth!" Ash heard Jessie and James yell.

"It was a nice run, kiddo," James said.

The bottom was approaching quickly.

Ash heard Jessie and James arguing with each other even though he was close to the bottom.

"Did you want him to stay here forever?" Jessie asked.

"I just didn't want us to have to do that!" James whined, "after all, Jessie, it's-it's not like this is just some normal dream. He's been with us for a very long time."

"James, help me!" Ash begged, his voice echoing off of the walls of the ravine.

"I'm sorry, Ash," James yelled, "I'm afraid at this point, what's done is done. Enjoy...enjoy your new life!"

Ash heard James crying.

"That was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made," James said, still sobbing.

"Let's just hope that it works," Jessie said.

"Let's hope the shock doesn't kill 'em for real," Meowth said.

Those were the last words Ash heard before his head hit the jagged rocks at the bottom of the ravine. He felt a really big jolt, and then, it all went white. Ash's head felt, funny, like there was something moving inside of it.

There was a strange smell in the air; it smelled like a strong bleach.

Ash heard machines bleeping.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a blinding white light overhead.

 _Where...where am I?_

Ash opened his eyes to find himself attached to all kind of tubes and beeping machines. There was a tube in his mouth and IV lines giving him fluids.

"You took quite a fall young man," a familiar voice said.

"Professor...Professor Oak?" Ash asked tiredly.

"Subject is responding to stimuli," Professor Oak said.

"What are you talking about?" Ash said.

Weakly, Ash continued to blink and adjust to his surroundings.

"Where's Pikachu?" Ash said.

Ash felt someone put a hand on his forehead.

"Please, Team Rocket took Pikachu. I have to get him back," Ash said.

"I'm afraid what you need now is a chance to adjust," Professor Oak said, "you've been asleep for a very very long time."

"How long?" Ash asked.

"Years, I'm afraid. You and your parents were involved in a car crash; you were admitted shortly before your tenth birthday. You recently turned thirteen years old," Professor Oak said.

"A car crash?" Ash asked, weakly.

Professor Oak nodded.

"No, that can't be right. Team Rocket took Pikachu and pushed me out of their balloon, and-" Ash said.

"I'm afraid whatever was going on in that dream world of yours was simply not reality," Professor Oak said.

"...but...but Professor Oak, what do you mean? Don't you remember Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Yes, I remember Pikachu," Professor Oak said.

"Well, at least that's a relief," Ash said.

"I remember him because my grandson would not shut up about Pokemon cards," Professor Oak said.

"...but...you gave me a real Pikachu," Ash protested.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Professor Oak said.

* * *

The rest of the day was a struggle for Ash. He longed for the familiar Pokemon world and the friends he had grown accustomed to. This world was cold, sterile, and unfamiliar. Plus, even though he had been given medicine, he could still feel his head and muscles aching. It was strange. Back in Pokemon world, he would heal up almost instantly after a fall, cut, or even burn. Nothing seemed to hurt for long. There also weren't any confusing situations where people looked at you like a stantler in headlights if you mentioned Pokemon. Everyone knew what Pokemon were, not just from trading cards but from real life.

Briefly, Ash wondered if maybe this was the dream and that other place was real life. The boy thought that maybe that fall from Team Rocket's balloon landed him in a hospital in a town he was familiar with. Maybe he would wake up in Celedon City and be able to tell everyone about the nightmare world he went to that didn't have any Pokemon. Ash shook his head. Though he could hope he would wake up back in Pokemon world, something about this place did seem familiar. It didn't feel like a dream at all, really, and even though he didn't want to, he was starting to remember parts of this strange place.

It first happened when he was watching TV. Ash saw a four-legged creature with orange fur on his belly and a long snout. _That's a Houndoom, but I wonder where its bone plates are?_ Ash thought. As Ash continued to watch the commercial, though, he caught himself correcting himself. _No, that's a dog, and it's not a fire type...it's a...normal type?_ Ash wasn't sure exactly where or how he remembered that information, but he did. It was clear they weren't going to start spitting fire. Something told him that only happened in Pokemon world. They sure looked interested in their trainers, though. Ash continued to flip through the channels.

 _No one uses the word "Pokemon" here. They're called "animals."_ Ash thought.

Ash stopped on a dog show and watched with fascination. It looked like a super scaled down version of a Pokemon contest. The little tricks they did were cute, but no one used any super neat attacks. Even "agility" wasn't the blinding show of speed he expected to see. Still, though, there was something fascinating about it, even though the creatures seemed pretty weak. He caught himself expecting the dogs to spit fire or make an ice tornado. Of course, that never happened.

May _and Dawn might be interested in this if they ever came here._ Ash thought to himself. _Wait, where are May and Dawn? Did they ever exist, either?_

Ash then flipped to a cat food commercial.

 _Hey a Persian...no...a Meowth...a Skitty...a Litten? No, it's a cat. Cats are also normal_ _types_. Ash thought. The "meowing" sound was familiar, but he was blown away when he heard a kitten for the first time.

 _Mew? Mew? Did that creature just say Mew? Is that maybe a Mew in disguise? I've heard they can trans...right wrong world, Ash. Kitten, the pre-evolved form of cat, got it._

The boy stayed glued to National Geographic and tried to absorb all of the information about this world that he could.

 _Hey, is that a Hippopotas? What's it doing in the water?_ Ash thought as he watched a documentary on hippopotamuses.

 _So they live in the water, but they aren't water types? Well, that's weird._ Ash thought.

 _Hey? What are those weird looking Totadiles doing swimming up to them like that? I wonder if they're going to try to make friends. Oh, it's using a bite attack! This could be exciting. Wait, is-is that blood? Isn't-isn't someone going to do something?_

Ash, feeling sick to his stomach, decided to change the channel.

There was a variety show with more silly pet tricks. People were oohing and awing at tricks that would be really really easy for a Pokemon to pull off. Something told Ash he would need to lower his expectations if he wanted to get to know the local creatures, but he did want to get to know them, just like they were Pokemon.

 _Oh! A Pikachu! This is gonna be good!_ Ash thought as he saw two familiar little ears and a plump body appear in a handler's hands. The color was off for a Pikachu, but-

 _No, it's something called a rabbit, and it's apparently another normal type. What a disappointment!_

Apparently, it was totally awesome that this creature came when called and could play a musical instrument.

 _Where are the real moves?_ Ash thought.

Disappointed, Ash continued to flip channels. This time he stopped on a documentary about sea creatures.

 _Oh! Now, it's getting good! Those look like Tentacool, but they're called jellyfish, are poison types with a super powerful poison sting! I wonder if there are any jellyfish trainers around here. Misty might like this if she were here. Was Misty just a figment of my imagination, too? They can't leave the water, though, can they? Bummer._

 _Hey! is that a Mudkip? No, it's something called an axolotl. Seriously? That sounds like a species of Pokemon to me. Anyway, it's the pre-evolved form of something called a salamander. I wonder if that's any kin to a Charmander? Weird, and they're also poison types. There are a lot of poison types in the ocean._

 _Wait a minute, a Seaking? No, it's something called a lion fish. It also has a powerful poison sting._

 _Whoa! Did that fish just do a thunderbolt attack? What in this world is that one called? Electric eel, eh? That's a good name for it! Do the only electric types live in the oceans here?_

Learning how tame his new world's "Pokemon" were was a disappointment to Ash, but at the same time, he wanted to know more and kept carefully flipping channels.

 _Hmm...I've found normal, poison, and electric types. I wonder if they have any fire or water types? It seems like water types would live in the water, but this place is weird. They could be anywhere._

 _Hey! Is that a Donphan squirting water out of its nose? No, it's called an elephant...I...seem to remember those for some reason._

An image flashed into Ash's mind. He was a little boy, and his parents put him on a large scaly gray thing. There was the smell of fresh grass and another not so pleasant smell. The little creature made some kind of light roaring sound before prancing around with him on his back.

Ash tried to force the memory back down.

 _No, I've never seen anything like this before. I've seen Phanpy and Donphan and Drowzee but not elephants!_ Ash tried to convince himself.

Still, though, the memory nagged at him. It was proof that he had been here before and to Ash, that was too scary.


	2. Chapter 2

Ash lay down in his hospital bed and sighed. His first day in the "real world" was hard to process. Almost nothing was familiar. No one knew what Pokemon were or could relate to his life as a Pokemon trainer. His head hurt when he tried to consider the idea that it was all just a long dream.

 _Have I really been dreaming for two years?_ Ash asked himself.

The boy looked out the window and toward the night sky.

 _No, that can't be right. It-it had to be real._ Ash thought.

The boy closed his eyes and thought about his buddy Pikachu and the adventures they had together. He imagined his buddy's warm soft fur and "electrifying" personality.

 _Pikachu...I'll find you, buddy. Then maybe we can get out of this strange world._ Ash thought.

"Pikachu..." Ash whispered as he again tried to drift off to sleep.

The "real world" suddenly disappeared in a veil of darkness and Ash awoke to a familiar scene, albeit a fuzzier version of it.

 _"Alright, Pikachu, thunderbolt! Aim for the horn!" Ash said._

 _Ash's yellow furred companion obeyed without hesitation, leaped in the air, and electrocuted the charging Rhydon opponent._

 _"The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"_ the announcer shouted.

 _Ash leaped in the air with excitement and Pikachu followed. Then, the two embraced each other for a victory dance._

 _"We did it, Pikachu!" Ash shouted_

Ash suddenly shot up from his bed with a smile on his face and arms in the air in a cheering position.

"Yeah! We won! Alright! I knew you could do it, Pikachu," Ash said while clutching his pillow.

The night was strangely silent.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked.

There was no response. Ash looked around the hospital room, and his eyes fell on the pillow he was clutching. Realization suddenly hit him.

"It was...just a dream?" Ash whispered.

Frustration was nagging at the young teen. He lay his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes tightly, as if he was trying to drown out some kind of terrible warning, Ash's body started shaking with anger.

 _Was it really all just a dream? Was it really all just a dream!_

In a flash, the boy's joy turned to disappointment and anger. He balled up his fist and punched the pillow he had been holding lovingly earlier.

"No! Pikachu..." Ash said. The boy's voice was merely a whisper that broke into a sob at the end.

Ash continued punching the pillow, harder and harder, as if each blow would bring him closer to waking up from this nightmare and being back with his friends. Ash punched the pillow until his knuckles were sore. Finally, Ash grabbed the pillow and cried into it.

Exhausted, Ash finally entered into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ash again opened his eyes to be greeted by his sterile environment.

Nurse Joy was taking his vitals and asking him how he slept.

"Okay," Ash said weakly. It was a lie, but he knew from the previous day that no one here would understand his disappointment.

"Good," Nurse Joy replied, almost robotically as she finished his vitals.

 _The Nurse Joy in Pokemon world is almost always happy. I wonder what's wrong with this one._ Ash thought.

Ash sighed as Nurse Joy finished checking his vitals.

"You seem upset, is there anything wrong?" Nurse Joy asked.

Ash studied Nurse Joy. She had long brown hair, pulled back into a bun. She wasn't wearing her Pokemon nurse uniform, just plain white scrubs.

She didn't look like his world's Nurse Joy, but she sounded just like her. Ash almost told her about missing Pokemon world but caught himself at the last minute.

"I miss...my friends." Ash said with a small whine at the end.

"They probably missed you, too..." Nurse Joy replied cautiously.

Ash got the idea that she didn't know what he was talking about, and he was probably right.

The boy sighed as Nurse Joy finished checking his vitals.

Briefly, he found himself lost in a daydream.

 _"Chansey!"_

 _"Your Pokemon are fighting fit! Come see us again!"_

Ash blinked.

" _Are my Pokemon going to be okay?" Ash asked._

 _"With a little rest, they'll be just fine!" Nurse Joy replied._

 _"Blissey!"_

Ash shook himself out of his daydream in time to see Nurse Joy walking away with the cart. These were all very familiar sounds. It seems like he found himself at a Pokemon center almost every day in Pokemon world.

The sound of hard shoes echoed off of the tiled floors.

Ash looked up. It was Professor Oak. Well, the man he had been calling Professor Oak; he responded to it anyway, but even though he sounded like Professor Oak from the other world, he again didn't look that much like him. This Professor Oak had short silver hair, and he was a lot more serious than the playful Professor Oak he was used to. If Ash closed his eyes, though, he was almost identical to the other Professor Oak besides that.

"It's good that you're awake. Did you sleep well?" Professor Oak asked.

"I guess so..." Ash said.

"Do you think you might be able to do physical therapy today? We need to get your muscles back in shape," Professor Oak asked.

Ash nodded his head, not really interested in whatever was just said.

"Good, after breakfast, I'll have someone begin your regimen," Professor Oak said.

* * *

 _Eww...even the food here is terrible._ Ash thought.

Ash stared at his watered down oatmeal and almost refused to touch it. His growling stomach directed him to do otherwise, though. With a little hesitation, he picked up his spoon and dipped it into the bowl.

The spoon felt heavy and strange; he couldn't lift it with the ease like he could in Pokemon world. It also took a little bit longer to eat. In Pokemon world, he could polish off several bowls of this stuff and ask for seconds.

Ash swished the oatmeal in his mouth and tried not to gag at the odd consistency. The texture and flavor of real food felt foreign to his mouth. In the world he was in before, he only ever noticed what he was eating if he slowed down and thought about it. The food was delicious, when he could taste it. A lot of it tasted like candy and fruit, for some reason, but there were also very strong savory dishes that tasted like his favorite foods usually.

In comparison, the oatmeal tasted like sweetened hot water. It took everything he had not to just spit it out and ask for an Oran Berry instead.

Ash forced himself to swallow the last bite.

 _Yuck! Even Pokemon food tastes better than that!_ Ash thought.

Briefly, Ash fantasized about Brock and his great cooking.

 _Man! I wish Brock were here._ Ash thought to himself.

Suddenly, Ash heard a familiar voice.

"'Hey, Ash..."

 _Ha! I must have a good imagination. I thought I heard_

"Hey, Ash, over here..."

 _"_ Brock?" Ash asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Yeah! It's me, Brock. How did you know?" Brock asked.

Ash would have spit out his oatmeal if he had any in his mouth.

"How? How did you get here?" Ash asked.

"I work here," Brock said.


End file.
